Abraham, Part 8 - Faith, Sacrifice and Darkness

Genesis 15v7-12

1^st November 2010

We read last week about the time when Abraham was justified by faith. He believed the LORD, and he [God] credited it to him [Abraham] as righteousness. You might think that such faith would never waver, but we read this about the next thing God said to Abraham:

Genesis 15:7-8
He [God] also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I shall gain possession of it?"

Abraham still had doubts. We all do, really. Sometimes we need God to demonstrate His commitment to us. We shouldn't need it, but we do.

Genesis 15:9-10
So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.

God was asking Abraham to make the preparations for them to make a covenant (something like a contract). In those days, when an important contract was being agreed, animals would be sacrificed in this way, as a solomn way of sealing the contract, saying "may we lose our lives if we break the contract".

But there was also a spiritual principle being enacted here. When we recognise a promise from God, and pray for it to be fulfilled, or for faith to believe, God often asks us to make a sacrifice. When we sacrifice money, or when we change our lifestyles, giving up something pleasureable (even sinful) we're putting our (little) faith into action. We're demonstrating that we choose to trust God.

But making a pure sacrifice to God can be difficult:

Genesis 15:11
Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

Just as Abraham had to drive away the birds of prey that were swooping down trying to ruin the sacrifice, we too have to drive away the temptations and doubts, the selfishness and pride, that seek to ruin our sacrifice. We have to be diligent not to take back what we've given, not to resent it, and not to go back to the lifestyle choices that we sacrificed to God.

Then we read:

Genesis 15:12
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.

Again this speaks about our own lives, and our own relationships with God. Often, when we've heard the voice of God, and we've responded by making the sacrifice He calls for, we're then tested further. Many good Christians have known a time of thick and dreadful darkness which was not caused by any great act of sin on their part, indeed it can seem to happen after we've made a significant act of commitment to God. At such a time, we feel spiritually alone. It's as if God isn't there when we pray (he is, really, of course) and we must rely on what we have known of God in the past.

As the prophet Isaiah said:

Isaiah 50:10
Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

At such times, we learn what is it to walk by faith, and not by sight. It's tough, but our understanding of ourselves, and of God, will grow if we will continue to trust God, even in the dark times.